Are Podoplanin Gene Polymorphisms Associated with Atopic Dermatitis in Koreans?

BACKGROUND: The histologic characteristics of atopic dermatitis (AD) include perivascular edema and dilated tortuous vessels in the papillary dermis. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the fms-related tyrosine kinase 4 (FLT4) gene is associated with AD. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the associations between podoplanin (PDPN) gene SNPs and AD. METHODS: We genotyped 9 SNPs from 5 genes of 1,119 subjects (646 AD patients and 473 controls). We determined the promoter activity of 1 SNP (rs355022) by luciferase assay; this SNP was further investigated using 1,133 independent samples (441 AD patients and 692 controls). RESULTS: The rs355022 and rs425187 SNPs and the C-A haplotype in the PDPN gene were significantly associated with intrinsic AD in the initial experiment. The rs355022 SNP significantly affected promoter activity in the luciferase assay. However, these results were not replicated in the replication study. CONCLUSION: Two SNPs and the C-A haplotype in the PDPN gene are significantly associated with intrinsic AD; although, the results were confirmed by luciferase assay, they could not be replicated with independent samples. Nevertheless, further replication experiments should be performed in future studies.